Men’s Perceptions of Women Empowerment: Evidence from the Ijesa of Osun State, Nigeria

Empowerment literally means to invest with power, in the context of women’s empowerment the term has come to denote women’s increased control over their own lives, bodies, and environments. In discussions of women’s empowerment, emphasis is often placed on women’s decision-making roles, their economic self-reliance, and their legal rights to equal treatment, inheritance, and protection against all forms of discrimination. Women’s empowerment has been seen as the panacea for fertility reduction and a veritable force for female emancipation, reproductive rights, and achievement of female family size goals. It is therefore important that men have a good understanding of what it connotes, since this can have positive influence on the empowerment of women. This paper examined the perceptions of men of Ijesaland on what constitutes women’s empowerment. In addition, the paper examined the understanding of Ijesa men about the types of women’s empowerment and the factors that predisposes Ijesa women to being empowered. Data was collected from a cross section of men of Ijesa indigenes in Ijesaland using qualitative approach. In other words, In-depth interviews (IDIs) and Focus group discussions (FGDs) were used to collect data from ever married men in Ijesaland. The instruments used in data gathering are IDI and FGD guides. The findings revealed that Ijesa men demonstrated a fair understanding of what women’s empowerment connotes and all the aspect of empowerment mentioned by the respondents is captured by the literature. The study concluded that the understanding of Ijesa men of what constitute women’s empowerment is in line with what scholars who have conducted research opined women’s empowerment to be. Keywords: Decision Making, Ijesa, Men, Types of Empowerment, Women Empowermen